Intel targets IoT machine vision firm Movidius

The attraction to Intel is Movidius capability to add low power vision process to IoT-enabled device and autonomous machines.

Movidius has European design centres in Dublin and Romania.

Josh Walden, general manager of Intel’s New Technology Group, writes:

“The ability to track, navigate, map and recognize both scenes and objects using Movidius’ low-power and high-performance SoCs opens opportunities in areas where heat, battery life and form factors are key. Specifically, we will look to deploy the technology across our efforts in augmented, virtual and merged reality (AR/VR/MR), drones, robotics, digital security cameras and beyond.”

Its Myriad 2 family of Vision Processor Units (VPUs) are based on a sub-1W processing architecture, backed by a memory subsystem capable of feeding the processor array as well as hardware acceleration to support large-scale operations.

Remi El-Ouazzane, CEO of Movidius, writes:

“As part of Intel, we’ll remain focused on this mission, but with the technology and resources to innovate faster and execute at scale. We will continue to operate with the same eagerness to invent and the same customer-focus attitude that we’re known for, and we will retain Movidius talent and the start-up mentality that we have demonstrated over the years.”

Its customers include DJI, FLIR, Google and Lenovo which use its IP and devices in drones, security cameras, AR/VR headsets.

“When computers can see, they can become autonomous and that’s just the beginning. We’re on the cusp of big breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. In the years ahead, we’ll see new types of autonomous machines with more advanced capabilities as we make progress on one of the most difficult challenges of AI: getting our devices not just to see, but also to think,” said El-Ouazzane.